Hell's Bells
by StaroftheDunedain
Summary: The Winchesters are a tight knit trio. How do they handle it when Sam gets kidnapped by the YED? Even more scary-what is he learning about himself and Rose? Sequel to Twisted Sister, should read that first for this to make sense.
1. Thirteen Months Later prologue

AN: Thanks to doctor-emily001 for that really sweet review. Thanks to everyone else for all of the kinds things said so far. And, yes, I am early. I was excited. Here is the beginning of the next chapter, as well as some more originality on my part. :)

A freshly showered Rose Winchester dropped onto the cot with a groan. "I hate zombies!" She wasn't talking to anyone in particular because Dean and Sam were both out looking for the makings of a very late supper. Rose would have tagged along to make sure they left off her pickles, but she was the lucky duck who got covered with zombie guts, so she was left at the motel to scrub up.

The past thirteen months had been insane. They'd found their dad. His reason for hightailing it out of California was that he had gotten a lead on the location of the thing that had killed Mary Winchester and later Jessica Moore. He still hadn't caught it, but he had found the Colt.

The Colt was a gun, handmade by the Samuel Colt (whom most people did not know been a Hunter himself) and it was the only weapon known to be able to actually kill demons, instead of merely exorcising them back to hell. And Mary Winchester had been killed by a demon. The Yellow Eyed Demon. It seemed like, after 16 years, the family was finally getting close to vengeance.

Not so close, however, that they could just give up on hunting all the other evil things that lurked in the dark. So, the Winchesters split again; John going after the YED and his kids hanging together to take on all the vampires, ghosts, demons, wendigos or anything else they could find. They stayed busy.

Of course, nothing ever got to be easy or simple-not if one's name was Winchester anyway. To say that life started throwing curve balls would be a gross understatement. There'd been Dean getting electrocuted and then the faith healer he'd visited wound up having been using evil forces and Rose having to kill her first real crush. (He'd turned out to be a werewolf).

There'd been a shapeshifter who'd used Dean's form to murder four people, in plain view of more than one witness. On top of that, Dean and Sam were caught on video robbing a Milwaukee bank (they were really just trying to catch a different shapeshifter), meaning Rose got to find out what it was like living with two people on the FBI's Most Wanted List. She didn't like it.

Life biggest curveball, however, was to make the Yellow Eyed Demon in an evil son of a bitch with a plan. A plan which seemed to revolve, at least partly, around Sam.

Sam had started having visions. They were similar to Rose's in nature (although they were only of the future), but they were more garbled and draining.

As much fun as Rose had playing tutor to her older brother, the situation was frightening. Especially when they discovered the others.

Other twenty-three year olds who developed powers (telekinesis and mind control just to name a couple) a few moths after their birthdays. All of these psychics had lost their mothers in house fires before the age of ten. And all of the fires had been started by the YED.

But before the Winchesters could figure out what the master plan was-John Winchester was killed. Yellow Eyes had possessed a semi-truck driver and crashed into the Impala, putting Dean in a coma. Sam and Rose (neither of whom were severely hurt) had called their dad, thinking he should be there. Two days after the accident, Dean had made a complete and miraculous recovery, the Colt was gone and John was dead of a heart attack.

It was difficult to say which of the three remaining Winchesters felt the most guilt at his death. Dean was sure that John had made some sort of deal-exchanged lives-and he felt unworthy of such a price. Sam felt like he'd never even tried to understand his father. And Rose felt like she should have seen it coming and prevented it.

If they'd been apart, they never would have moved on. But they stuck together and helped each other deal. Naturally, they did it "without any of that touchy-feely, self-help, yoga crap" as Dean put it, but they were moving past the guilt and the grief. That was when Rose, lying on a cot and recently clean of zombie guts, had a vision of all hell breaking loose.


	2. Dean and Rose Misplace Sam

Disclaimer: I still do not own Supernatural. If I did, season 6 would not have ended so tragically.

The Impala pulled in front of Bubba's Burgers-a really run down looking joint that Sam would rather have avoided. But he was starving, it was two am, and pickings were slim even in the best hours in Nowheresville, North Dakota. Dean dug a wad of cash out of his pocket he'd won recently hustling pool (so, really, Rose had won it but he had taught her how so he got partial credit) and handed it to Sam. "Hey don't forget my extra onions this time, huh?"

"Dude, I am the one, besides our semi-saintly little sister, who is gonna have to hang out in the hotel room after you open the wrapper on your 'extra onions'" Sam complained.

Dean just grinned. "And leave off Rose's pickles."

"I will," Sam muttered, getting out of the car.

"Hey," Dean said as he was standing up, "see if they've got any pie." Glaring, Sam shut the door. "Bring me some pie!" Dean called louder to be heard through the closed door. He laughed and turned the Impala on to idle so that he could listen to the radio. "I love me some pie."

He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, trying to ignore the grumbling of his stomach. His phone went off in his pocket, his sister's number on the caller id. "Give us fifteen minutes, kid. Sam's having to go kill the cow first apparently."

"Dean." Rose sounded kind of sick, instantly putting her big brother on alert. "Dean where is Sam really?"

"Inside ordering the food. Why? What's up?" He turned down the extremely staticy radio station to listen better. "You sick?"

"What? No. I just called his cell and he didn't answer!" She almost sounded close to panicking and Rose had never been one to panic. "I just had a vision. Dean, Yellow-Eyes is after Sam!"

Dean immediately got out of the car. The diner's windows were so heavily tinted that he couldn't see inside. He had wondered earlier why such a shitty place needed security but now he was cursing it. "Rosie," he said as he was walking up, trying to keep the fear now coiling in his own gut out of his voice. "I'm going in to get him, I'm sure his phone is just still on silent from the hunt." Hand on the doorknob he told her, "it's all gonna be ok." He hung up and entered. "Sam?"

There was only one customer. He was sitting in a booth, dead, face down in a puddle of his own blood. Dean took his gun out of his waistband and started looking earnestly for his brother, whom he didn't find. He did find a couple of diner employees on the ground. All dead. All with their throats sliced cleanly open. Dean could see all the way through to their spines.

He went out the back door, noticing a yellowish substance that smelled and tasted like sulfur. "Sam?" Dean was hoping to see Sam looking at some tracks. Hell, he'd have been happy to see him grappling with some demon, mumbling exorcism rites under his breath. Instead, Dean saw nothing. "Sam!" He called again. "Sammy!" He got no answer. He raced back through the diner to the Impala. "SAM!" The only answer he got was the chirp of some disgustingly happy crickets, the roar of the Impala's engines as he turned the key, and the radio station that was working perfectly.


	3. The Lost Boys

AN: I still own nothing.

Sam woke up completely disoriented. Everything looked bigger than normal. Then he realized that it was because he was lying on the ground. He stood, dusting off his pants, and decided that Nowheresville, North Dakota was, in actuality, a bustling metropolis. The downtown in which he found himself (if one could call the center of a town with only fifteen buildings a downtown) was completely abandoned.

He pulled out his cell phone; there wasn't any signal. "Figures," he muttered. Sam decided to search the empty town, but it didn't look like there'd be much to find. All of the buildings looked abandoned.

Suddenly, Sam heard a creaking sound. He grabbed a plank of wood lying conveniently nearby and turned-expecting a fight.

The man who came around the corner was short, somewhat mousy looking, and familiar.

"Andy?" Sam asked, shocked, lowering his makeshift club.

Andy Gallagher was one of the YED's special children; he had the power to, as Dean put it, "Obi-wan people"—put thought into their heads. He had met the Winchesters when his identical twin brother had turned out to be a murdering psychopath whose crimes were foreseen by both Sam and Rose. Andy had helped stop the killings when he'd learned what his brother had been up to. "Sam!" Andy exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know."

"What am I doing here?"

"I don't know."

"Where are we?" Andy's voice was getting higher and his breathing rate was steadily picking up speed.

"Andy, look, calm down," Sam said soothingly.

"I can't calm down!" Andy's voice was practically squeaking. "I just woke up in freaking Frontier Land!"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Sam asked.

"Honestly, my fourth bong load," Andy replied. "It was weird. All of a sudden, there was this really intense smell. Like, uh..."

"Like sulfur?" Sam supplied.

"How did you know that?"

That was when Sam remembered the sulfur smell at the diner from which he had been taken. And where Dean had been waiting for him just a few yards away. "Dean..." he mumbled.

"Your brother—is he here?" Andy asked.

"I don't know where he is," Sam answered. "I don't even know if he's—" Sam was interrupted by the sound of a woman screaming. He and Andy ran toward another building-where they could hear a woman inside, screaming and banging on the door. "Hello?" Sam knocked on the door to get her attention.

"Help me!" She screamed. "Help me please!"

"Okay, I'm here," Sam reassured her. "We're gonna get you out, all right? Just...hold on a second."

"Please!"

Sam searched around until he found a large rock, which he used to smash the padlock on the door. "Ava?"

"Oh my God! Sam!" Ava Wilson, another of the psychic children-a girl with the same precognitive abilities as Sam, who'd used them to save Sam's life, and who'd been missing for months-threw herself onto Sam, sobbing.

"So, I guess you guys know each other," Andy said awkwardly, trying not to stare.

"Yeah," Sam answered, slightly relieved when Ava pulled away.

"How did you—I mean, how did you?" Ava stuttered.

"Ava, have you been here this whole time?"

"What whole time? I just woke up in there, like, half an hour ago."

"Well," Sam explained, "you've been gone for five months. My sister, brother, and I have been looking for you everywhere."

"Okay, that's impossible, because I saw you two days ago!"

"You didn't. I'm sorry." Sam put his hand on her shoulder.

"But..." she struggled to understand, "that makes no sense. That's not..." Her eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my God! My fiancée, Brady! If I've been missing for that long, he must be freaking out!"

"Well..." Sam did not want to be the bearer of even more bad news, so he was glad when Ava noticed Andy for the first time. She gave him a confused look.

"Hey, I'm Andy," he said. "Also freaking out."

"Okaaay." She turned her attention back to Sam. "What's happening?"

"I don't really know yet. But I do know one thing: I know what the three of us have in common."

The trio suddenly heard a man's voice calling from a distance. "Hello?" He was saying. "Is anybody there?"

"Maybe more than three," Sam said to himself.

A tall, black man, dressed in fatigues came down the street, accompanied by a blonde girl.

"Hey!" Sam called. "Hey, are you guys all right?"

"I think so," the strange man replied. "I'm Sam."

"I'm Jake." The two shook hands.

"Lily." The new girl didn't offer her hand.

"Are there any more of you?" Sam asked.

"No," Jake answered.

"How did we even get here?" Lily asked. "A minute ago, I was in San Diego ."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Jake interjected, "I went to sleep last night in Afghanistan."

"Let me take a wild guess," Sam said. "You are both twenty-three? We all are. And we all have abilities."

"What?" Jake asked.

"It started a little over a year ago? You found you could do things? Things you didn't think were possible?" Jake and Lily both nodded. "I have visions. I see things before they happen."

"Yeah," Ava added, "me too."

"And I can put thoughts into people's heads. Like, make them to stuff," Andy said. "But don't worry; I don't think it works on you guys. Oh, but get this-I've been practicing. Training my brain, like meditation. So now, it's not just thoughts I can beam out, but images too. Like, anything I want. Bam! People see it." He laughed. "This one guy I know—total dick right? I used it on him: gay porn, all hours of the day." He laughed again. "It was just like...you should have seen the look on his face."

He stopped laughing when he noticed the others' horrified expression. "Uh...ok"

"So, you go 'Simon says give me your wallet'" Lily clarified, "and they do?" She turned to Sam and Ava. "You have visions? That's great! I'd kill for something like that!" There was an odd, hysterical note to her voice.

"Lily, listen, it's ok," Sam said soothingly.

"No. It's not. I touch people? Their hearts stop! I can barely leave my house! My life's not exactly improved. So, screw you! I just wanna go home!"

"And, what, we don't?" Jake asked.

"You know what, don't talk to me like that!"

Sam cut off the argument by saying, "Hey, guys, please. Look, whether we like it or not, we're all here, and so we all have to deal with this."

"Who brought us here?" Andy asked.

"It's less of a 'who' and more of a 'what'"

"What does that mean?" Ava's nails were digging into her palm in an effort to control her voice.

Sam paused for a long moment. "It's a demon," he said finally.


	4. Send out the Seach Party

AN: I still own nothing. I don't even own Bernard the Thrift Store Bear. I just own Rose. Beta as always by the lovely SylvaniaWinchester.

The first thing Dean had done once he'd discovered Sam was missing, was to call Bobby Singer. Bobby was the one who'd taught John how to survive the dark and he was practically family. As soon as the two had hung up, Bobby had gotten in his battered old truck and started driving-meeting up with Dean and Rose on the highway. Both vehicles pulled off to the side and the men were poring over a map, while Rose stood, leaning against the solid warmth of Dean's back, trying to call on her powers.

"This is it," Bobby said, waving his hand over the map. "All demonic signs and omens over the past month."

"Are you joking?" Dean asked incredulously. "There's nothing here."

"Exactly."

"Well, come on, there's gotta be something. What about the normal, low level stuff? You know, exorcisms, that kind of thing."

"That's what I'm telling you: There's nothing," Bobby insisted. "It's completely quiet."

"Well, how are we supposed to find Sam? What, do we just close our eyes and point?" He reached around and patted Rose. "You got anything, Sis?"

"No," she said dejectedly. "Just a headache and a vague feeling that he's ok, at least for now."

"Well, that's something."

"Not much. Not enough. Why aren't my stupid powers working right now? They should be going nuts!" She wasn't even really talking to Dean, but he thought she was and he didn't know what to say. He was saved having to say anything by the ringing of his cell phone.

It was Ash; the mullet wearing, pot smoking, MIT graduated, computer genius who lived at the Roadhouse-a Hunter's Bar-and who was a Hunter's best source of information.

"Ash, what do you got?"

"Okay, listen, it's a big negatory on Sam."

Dean smacked the hood of Bobby's car in frustration. "Oh, come on, man! You've gotta give us something! We're looking at a three thousand mile haystack here!"

"Listen, Dean, I did find something."

"Well, what?"

"I can't talk over this line, Dean."

Against his back, Dean could feel Rose stiffen slightly.

"Come on!" Dean exclaimed. "I don't have time for this!"

"Make time, okay," Ash demanded. "Because this..." he lowered his voice as a customer walked by." Not only does this almost definitely help you find your brother, this is...it's huge. So get here. Now." With that, he hung up.

Dean stared at his phone for a minute. "I guess we're going to the Roadhouse. Come on."


	5. Brave New World

AN: Sorry for the long break folks :) Finals started. Blugh. Anyway, here ya go!

Back in the nameless abandoned town, Sam had just finished telling the rest of the group about the YWD and what he knew of its plans for them. No one was taking it well. "So," Jake said slowly, "we're soldiers in a demon war to bring on the Apocalypse?"

"When you put it like that..."Sam trailed off and shrugged.

"And we've been picked?" Jake asked.

"Yes?"

"Why us?"

"I'm not sure, okay?" Sam turned from one face to another, trying to find someone who believed him. "But, look, I just know-"

"Sam, I'm sorry," Ava said, interrupting his explanation. "Psychics and spoonbending is one thing, but demons?"

"Look, I know it sounds crazy, but-"

"It doesn't just sound it," Jake said.

"I don't really care what you think, okay?" Sam was starting to get pissed off at the group's denial of the situation. "If we're all gathered here together, then that means it's starting and that we've gotta-"

Jake held his hands up in a back off gesture, even though Sam hadn't moved. "The only thing I've gotta do is stay away from wackjobs. I've heard enough. I'm better off on my own." He took a few steps away from the group, then turned to look at everyone besides Sam. "FYI," he added, "so are you."

"Jake, hold on," Sam called. "Jake!" Jake ignored him and kept walking until he found himself alone. Or so it seemed.

Suddenly, he saw a little girl with sad eyes standing inside one of the buildings-an abandoned school house. "Hey there," he said quietly. She turned and ran inside. He followed her, thinking that whatever had taken the twenty-three-year-olds had snatched the kid too. He didn't see her in the gloomy building. He pushed some cobwebs out of his way. "Hello?" he called. "My name is Jake. Don't be scared. I'm not gonna hurt you." He couldn't hear her say anything.

Instead, he heard screeching coming from the chalkboard. Some unseen force was writing the words "I will not kill" over and over upon it. The little girl appeared out of thin air, laughing. It sounded high pitched and cruel as her nails grew into claws and her face contorted into something inhuman. Horrified, Jake shouted for her to "Get back!"

Jake was moments from getting ripped to shreds when Sam ran into the room. He grabbed the iron poker that had been left beside the antique stove and swung it at the monster. It dissolved into a cloud of black smoke, which exited the schoolhouse at lightning speed. Andy, Ava, and Lily (who had all followed Sam) stared at the spot where the thing had been standing.

"Just so you know, that was a demon." Sam was too tired to be smug. "Now, I'm not sure, but I think that thing was an Acheri: A demon that disguises itself as a little girl. Regardless, it still doesn't tell us where we are." Sam saw that Andy looked like he'd had a fifth bong load. "Andy, are you with me or what?"

"Give me a minute," Andy replied. "I'm still working through 'Demons are real.'"

Everyone else nodded and they all followed Sam without a word when he left the building and started down the street. He stopped in front of another building, presumably the town hall. In front of it, a large, rusty bell was hanging from a wooden structure.

"I've seen that bell before." Sam wracked his memory for a moment. "Ok, I think I know where we are now; Cold Oak, South Dakota: A town so haunted, every single resident fled."

"Swell," Ava muttered. "Good to know we're someplace so historical."

"Why in the world would that demon or whatever put us here?" Lily asked.

"I'm wondering the same thing." Sam hoped he sounded calmer than he felt.

"You know what? It doesn't matter," Lily said. "Clearly, the only sane thing to do here is to get the hell out of Dodge."

"Wait, hold on," Sam ordered gently. "Lily, the only way out is through miles of woods."

"Beats hanging out with the demons," the blonde argued.

"Lily, look, we don't know what's going on yet. I mean, we don't even know how many of them are out there right now."

"Yeah, Sam's right," Jake agreed. "We should-"

"Don't say 'we'!" Lily shouted. "I'm not part of 'we'! I have nothing in common with any of you!"

Sam attempted to console her. "Okay, look, I know-"

"You don't know anything!" She paused to take a deep breath. "I accidentally touched my girlfriend."

Sam was the first person in the group to recover from this statement. "I'm sorry," he said lamely.

"Whatever." Lily crossed her arms in a self-protective gesture. "I feel like I'm in a nightmare and it just keeps getting worse."

"I've lost people too," Sam said sympathetically. "I have a brother out there right now that could be dead for all I know and a little sister who's probably scared out of her mind. We're all in bad shape. But I'm telling you, the best way out of this is to stick together."

Lily thought about it for a tense moment. "Fine," she agreed at last.

Sam nodded and the group, as a whole, continued exploring the town.

"We're looking for iron, silver, salt, anything that can be used as a weapon," Sam explained.

"Salt is a weapon?" Jake asked incredulously.

"It's a brave new world," answered Sam dryly.

"Well, hopefully," broke in Andy, "there's food in your world, because I'm frickin' starving!"

Jake thought one building looked like it had once been a warehouse, which was promising, so they all went inside. Except for Lily, who had been trailing behind.

She took the chance to act on her previous plans and she slipped off. Alone.


	6. Roadhouse Blues

An: I still own nothing but Rose and a blue jean jacket she totally wants.

Dean, Rose, and Bobby pulled into the Roadhouse's parking lot. Or, rather, what used to be the parking lot, because the bar had burned completely to the ground, its remnants still smoking. "What the hell?" Dean breathed as he and his sister clambered put of the Impala.

The trio wandered through the debris. Every single part of the Roadhouse had been destroyed.

They stood in the place where the owners' quarters had been. "Oh my God," Rose said brokenly, her hand instinctively going for Dean's.

He gave it a gentle squeeze as he asked, "You see Ellen?" referring to the bar's owner.

Rose shook her head. "No," Bobby said. "No Ash either."

Dean looked down and saw something shiny in the rubble. He recognized it as Ash's watch. He bent down to retrieve it and saw that it was still attached to Ash's very burnt corpse.

Dean jumped backwards. "Oh, Ash, dammit!"

Bobby looked like he was going to be sick.

Rose was close to tears. "Why the hell didn't I see _any_ of this? Dean?" Big brother desperately wished he had an answer to give her.


	7. Where's Lily?

**AN: Sorry it took so long to update folks! Between Easter and finals week coming down... Yeah... Disclaimer: I still own nothing at all. My friend even owns Bernard the Thrift Store Bear. I don't. Plead: Review please. Thanks to angeleyenc for all of the reviews, but if people want more, I need to hear from them. Trust me... Chapters 10 and 11 are worth hanging in for. I hope at least. **

Lily didn't want to admit to herself that leaving the group might have been a very bad idea. Instead, she continued wandering through the woods searching for a way out. Somewhere in the darkness, she could hear a little girl laughing.

She'd only been gone about fifteen minutes and no one had yet noticed her missing-intent as they all were on trying to find something useful.

Sam picked up a knife off of the counter in the kitchen of one of the abandoned houses. He had been partnered with Ava for this search. He turned to show her the knife, saw her massaging her head.

"Hey, you all right?"

"Yeah," she answered with a very weak smile. "I'm just, I don't know, a little dizzy I guess."

"Are you sure it's not some kind of-"

"What? Some sort of freak vision thingy?" She patted his shoulder. "Nope, more like I'd kill for a sandwich. I haven't eaten since, well…who knows? No, don't worry, I'm fine. Except for every single thing that's happened."

"You guys!" Andy called from outside. "I found something!"

Sam and Ava joined Andy and Jake, the latter was holding up two burlap bags. "Salt!" Andy said excitedly.

"That's great, Andy," Sam congratulated him. "Now, we all can…" He looked around. "Wait, where's Lily?"

"Lily?" Ava called.

"Lily!" Sam yelled.

They could hear laughter coming from nearby. More specifically, they could hear giggling. The four of them raced toward the sound.

Ava screamed.

Lily had been strung up from the water tower, her face twisted into an expression of horror, her eyes dead and glassy.

"Oh my God!" Ava clutched Sam's arm. "Okay, that's officially-Sam, she's dead! She's dead! You said we were chosen for a reason. That is NOT chosen! That's killed!" She tugged on him like an anxious child. "We have got to get out of here!"

"Stop." Sam said firmly. 

"I second Ava's plan," Andy interjected.

"Not sure that's an option," Jake argued.

"What?" Ava shrieked.

"Lily was trying to leave," Sam explained. "The demon's not gonna let us get away that easily. We've gotta gear up for the next attack."

"Oh, gear up?" repeated Ava.

"Yeah."

"Okay, well, I'm not a soldier! I can't do that!" Her voice was going from frightened to hysterical.

"Well, if you wanna stay alive, you're gonna have to," Sam said bluntly.

Jake gestured at Lily. "I'll get her down."

Sam nodded, letting out a deep breath, watching Jake climb the tower, Sam's knife in hand. "You know," he said to nobody in particular, "I was just thinking about how much Dean and Rose would help right now. I'd give my arm for a working phone."

"Rose is psychic too!" Andy suddenly remembered. Sam nodded, unsure why that was so exciting. "Well," Andy said, "it doesn't usually work over long distances, but if Rose is especially receptive…. Do you have anything of hers on you? Something she touched?"

"Uhmm…" Sam rooted through his pockets for a moment. "I've got a barrette. Would that work?"

"Yeah." Andy looked at the piece of plastic Sam placed in his palm. "Skull and crossbones? I didn't realize your sister had a Goth side; she just went from a hottie to a dream girl on the sexy meter."

"Move on, Andy," Sam urged, eyes narrowing just a little into a glare.

"That would be better for my safety in the long run, wouldn't it?" Sam nodded. "All right then."


	8. Something to Go On

**AN: Quick update for you now. Review please :) Disclaimer: If I owned anything, do you really think I would be writing fanfiction? Oh well, I own nothing. **

Bobby and Dean were searching through the debris, mostly just to be doing something. "This is…" Bobby trailed off, shaking his head.

"What the hell did Ash know?" Dean kicked a piece of wood. "We've got no way of knowing where Ellen is. Or if she's even alive. We've got no clue what Ash was gonna tell us." He gave the garbage another, more vicious kick, sending it spinning across the yard. "Now, how the hell are we gonna find Sam?"

Hoping like hell that he wasn't lying, Bobby answered, "We'll find him."

Suddenly, Rose (who was on the other side of the burned down bar, trying to find the entrance to the basement) was struck by a severe head ache. She groaned and clutched her head.

Dean ran over and put his hands on her shoulders. "You okay?"

She shook her head.

"Dean?" Bobby said. "She having a vision?"

"I don't think so," Dean replied. "Hers usually strike when she's asleep. And they don't seem to hurt. This is more like Sam."

Rose groaned again and doubled over. In the lights dancing behind her eyelids, she thought she saw an image, but it was gone in an instant.

Dean dropped to his knees and she leaned heavily against him for a moment. "I'm okay," she said at last, standing on slightly shaky legs.

"What was that?" Dean asked, keeping his hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know," Rose said, shrugging. "A headache?"

"You get headaches like that often?" Bobby asked skeptically.

"No. Must be the stress." She chuckled, more to put the men at ease than out of any real humor. "I could have sworn I saw something though."

Bobby crossed his arms. "So, it was a vision?"

Rose shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

"I'm just saying."

"Come on, Bobby, I've been having visions for years. I know what they're-Agh!" Abruptly, she fell against the car; face pale, eyes squeezed tightly shut, breathing ragged.

"Rose?" Dean pulled her away from the Impala to rest against his chest. "Rose!" Her eyes flickered open and her breathing rate slowed to normal. "Are you with me?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I saw Sam! I saw him, Dean!"

"So," Bobby repeated, "it was a vision."

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know why it was so different, but yeah." She let out a deep exhale and pulled away from her brother. "That was about as much fun as getting kicked in the shins. No wonder Sam is so bit…erm…testy, after his. That friggin hurt!"

"What did you see besides Sam?" Bobby asked.

"Uh, there was a bell."

"What kind of bell?"

"A big one." She thought for a moment. "I only got a glimpse, but I think there was some sort of engraving on it."

"Engraving?"

"Yeah."

"Was it a tree?" Bobby met Dean's eyes over the top of Rose's head. "Like, an oak tree?"

"Yes! Exactly!"

Bobby smiled, straightened the trucker cap he always wore. "I know where Sam is."


	9. Kindred Spirits

**AN: Here's a quick update. Review please. :) Beta by the fabulous SylvanniaWinchester :)**

Jake and Sam were in what used to be a jail; Sam was working up a sweat trying to break off one of the rusty, iron bars. Jake, however, grabbed a hold of one and, with minimal effort, pulled it loose. Sam stared at him, stunned.

"I'm not Superman or anything," Jake said, embarrassed. "It's no big deal."

Sam nodded. "You were in Afghanistan when this all started?"

"Yeah, I started getting headaches. And then there was this…incident. A bomb went off and flipped a jeep, pinning a guy underneath. I lifted it off of him like it was nothing." He shrugged. "Everybody said it was a fluke adrenaline thing."

"But then you did it again, right?"

"Bench-pressed eight hundred pounds stone-cold calm. I never told anybody of course. It was just too crazy."

"Yeah." Sam actually grinned. "Crazy's relative."

Jake grinned back. "I'm starting to get that."

"By the way," Jake said more seriously, "I appreciate what you're doing here."

Sam's nose wrinkled a little in confusion. "What am I doing?"

"Keeping calm. Keeping them calm. Especially considering how freaked to hell you really are." Jake's hand crept unconsciously toward where his sidearm should have been holstered. "I've been in some deep crap before myself. I know the look."

"Oh." Sam tugged on the iron bar again, hard, for a long moment. "You wanna know the truth? I've this brother right? My big brother. And he's always telling me and our baby sister how he's gonna watch out for us, how everything's gonna be okay. I tell Rose the same thing when he isn't around. And, now, I'm, you know, kinda telling them the same thing too."

"Yeah?"

"I don't know if I believe it this time. I mean," he ran his hands through his hair, "the size of what's coming—it's bigger than anyone has ever seen. I mean, it's gonna get bad. And I don't know if—"

"If we're gonna make it," Jake finished. "It doesn't matter if we believe it. Only matters that they do." Sam nodded slowly, grateful that there was at least one person in whom he could confide.

Hours later, Sam and Ava were fortifying one of the houses, lining the doors and windows with salt. "My horoscope said I shouldn't have gotten out of bed," Ava half-joked. "How are you doing, Sam? Holding up?"

"I'm okay," he lied. "What about you?"

"Not so okay. Why us, Sam? What did we do to deserve this?"

"Just lucky I guess."

"If it wasn't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all. I just can't wait for all of this to be over so I can just pretend it never happened." She smiled softly. "I just wanna curl up with Brady and watch bad TV." She glanced over at Sam, saw him shift uncomfortably, a guilty look on his face. "What is it? Sam…do you know something I don't?"

"Look, Ava…." Sam took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to tell you this."

"Tell me what?" Ava asked nervously.

"When the demon broke into your home to take you…your fiancé didn't make it. I'm so sorry."

She stared at him in shock. "No, that's…no!"

She collapsed onto Sam, sobbing. He rubbed her back and told her, "Everything's gonna by okay."


	10. ByeBye Miss American Pie

AN: So, here's another update guys. :) We're sticking with Sam for a while. Disclaimer: I own nothing. At all. I don't even own Sam's pocket lint!

Night fell over Cold Oak. The entire group huddled in one room, for protection against both the cold and the very real dangers lurking outside in the dark. No one wanted to sleep, but one by one, exhaustion began to take its toll. Suddenly, Sam saw a strange man standing in a corner of the room. A stranger with yellow eyes. "Jake!" Sam shouted. "Jake, behind you!" Jake didn't appear to hear him.

"Howdy, Sam," the Yellow Eyed Demon drawled.

"I'm dreaming," Sam realized.

"What do you say you and I take a walk?" Sam followed the demon outside. "You're awfully quiet, Sam," he said. "You're not mad at me are you?"

"I'm gonna tear you to shreds! I swear to—"

Sam's threat was cut off by the demon chuckling indulgently. "When you wake up, Tiger, you give it your best shot."

"Where's my sister?" Sam demanded to know. "My brother!"

"Quit worrying about your precious family. It's not like worrying is gonna help anything anyway. Think your sister's visions are going to save her?" He laughed. "If I'm ever able to get to your family, Rose and her friends aren't going to be able to help. Besides, right now, I'd worry more about yourself." He laughed.

"Why? You gonna kill me?" Sam asked bitterly. "You're pretty damn good at that-killing people."

"I'm trying to help you," the YED answered smoothly. "That's why we're talking. You're the one I'm rooting for."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Welcome to the Miss America pageant! Why do you think you're here? Only one of you crazy kids is gonna make it out of here alive."

Sam stared at him. "But…I thought we were supposed to be—"

"Soldiers in a demon war?" The YED laughed. "That's true. But, here's the thing: I don't need soldiers. I need _soldier_. I just need the one."

"Why?"

"Well, I couldn't just come out and say that, could I, Sam? I had to let everyone think they had a fighting chance. But what I need is…a leader."

"To lead who?" Sam felt sick to his stomach and incredibly alone.

"Oh, I've already got my army." The YED smirked. "Or, I will soon anyway."

"You son of a bitch!" Sam hissed from between his teeth.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you hadn't guessed. I mean, why do you think so many children flamed out already? That telekinetic-Max Miller. And Andy's brother, what's-his-name. They weren't strong enough. I'm looking for the best and brightest of your generation."

"My generation?"

"Well, there's other generations, but let's just worry about yours. That's why I'm here, Sam." The YED patted Sam's shoulder. Sam, in return, resolutely did not flinch. "I wanna give you the inside track. You're tough. You're smart. You're well-trained, thanks to your daddy. Sam-Sammy-you're my favorite."

"You've ruined my life!" Sam spat. "You killed almost everyone I've ever loved. You killed my future."

"The cost of doing business, I'm afraid," the demon said with obviously mock sorrow. "I mean, sweet, little Jessica-she just had to die. You were all set to marry that little blonde thing, become a tax lawyer with two kids, a beer gut, and a little McMansion in the suburbs. I needed you sharp, on the road, honing your skills. Your gifts."

"What about my mom?"

"That was bad luck."

"Bad luck?" Sam repeated dumbly.

"She walked in on me. Wrong place, wrong time."

"What does that mean?"

"It wasn't about her. It was about you. It's always been about you, Sam." His laughter sent chills down Sam's spine. "Well, almost always."

"What?" Sam's voice was small, even to his own ears.

"Well…okay. You caught me in a charitable mood. I'll show you."


	11. RockABye Baby

AN: Sorry for the break folks. I had a lot of exams then move out. Back on board now. Disclaimer: I still own nada. REVIEW PLEASE! If you want me to continue that is...

The demon snapped his fingers and, suddenly, he and Sam were standing in Sam's nursery. "Look familiar?" The demon asked. "It should." Sam watched his six-month-old self crying in his crib while the Yellow Eyed Demon of the past stood over him. "Relax," said the YED at Sam's side. "This is just a hi-def instant replay. Enjoy the show."

They watched as the YED sliced open his own wrist with his fingernail. He dripped some of the blood into Baby Sam's mouth.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" Sam exclaimed

"Better than mother's milk."

"Does this mean I have demon blood in me?" The demon (who actually did seem to be enjoying the show) didn't say anything. "Answer me!"

The room started spinning like crazy. When it finally stopped, they were in the same room…but it was pink instead of blue and the baby in the crib was different. The YED was in this replay too, standing above this baby's crib.

"Rose," Sam said quietly, realizing that they had jumped ahead six years.

Mary Winchester entered the room, looking very tired. "John?" She said to the YED.

"Mom," Sam whispered.

"Is she hungry?" Mary asked what she thought was her husband.

"Shhh."

"Okay," Mary said with a smile, leaving the room.

"Wait! Mom!" Sam screamed. "Mom!"

"What did I tell you, Sam? She can't hear you," said the YED. "This isn't real." Sam watched, horrified, as the demon of his nightmare pulled out a large knife with strange symbols decorating the blade. He stood, arms raised, ready to plunge it into the tiny body below him.

Suddenly, they heard a scream and Mary rushed back into the nursery. The past YED turned to her, revealing his colored eyes.

"It's you," Mary said, her own eyes widening.

"She knew you," Sam breathed.

Mary began to walk closer to the crib. "Stay away from my little girl!"

Telekinetically, brutally, she was forced against the wall. She put her hands to her own throat, clawing at whatever unseen force was cutting off her air.

"You can't hurt her!" She gasped. "They'll stop you!"

"Maybe," the demon taunted. "But it doesn't seem like they're going to save you, does it?" Slowly, Mary was moved up the wall, until she was pinned to the ceiling.

"NO!" Sam screamed. "NO!"

"I don't think you wanna see this," the YED said. Instantly, the duo was back in Cold Oak.

"You wanted Rose?" Sam asked dumbfounded. "I thought this was about me?"

"You know," the demon said thoughtfully, "ignore my earlier advice. You should worry about your family, or at least, that pretty baby sister of yours. I hate to leave a job half finished and I'm going to get past the castle guard and kill her sooner or later. That little bitch is too much of a threat to keep alive."

"Stay. Away." Sam ground out. "We won't let you touch her."

Disappointed, the demon shook his head. "Sam, Sam, Sam. Do you really think your _family_ has ever really stood in my way?"

"What do you even want with her? She's just a kid!"

"Think about it, Sam. Powers like yours, like your sister's, there's only a couple of places those can come from. And I sure as, well," he chuckled, "sure as hell had no part in giving Rose any gifts."

He snapped his fingers again and Sam jolted awake in the abandoned South Dakota town.


	12. She Talks To Angels

AN: Sorry about the wait folks! RL has been crazy lately then I had to try to find a new beta. Still looking but I got my mom to do this one. Gotta love moms. Hopefully, this makes up for it a little...

Disclaimer: I still do not own anything but Rose and Jethro the bear. It makes me sad actually.

It was a long drive to Cold Oak, even with Dean at the wheel. Despite her best intentions and her fear for Sam, the familiar sound of the Impala's engines combined with the comforting feeling of Dean's hand on her knee and her sheer exhaustion put Rose to sleep in no time.

Rose Winchester was an expert on weird dreams, but this one started out differently from any she'd ever had.

She was sitting on a well-worn, wooden church pew. It seemed like she was in a Catholic church, made of stone and filled with statues, candles, and beautiful stained glass windows. It felt old. She couldn't tell its size because it was night outside and the church was filled with shadows.

Oddly, she felt comfortable in these shadows. She hadn't spent much time in churches as a kid, but she had always had faith.

Still, that faith didn't prepare her for the light that suddenly surrounded her-bright, hot, pure white light-or the the voice that came out of it.

"Seraphina Rose Winchester"

The light and the voice were all around her. "Yeah," she said quietly, more terrified than she'd ever been in her life. "God?"

"No." The light, while not decreasing in brightness, shrank and concentrated, becoming a form, manlike but tall, seven feet. She couldn't make out a face, just the form. Wings, twenty feet long, armor with a helmet, Roman breastplate, and a flaming sword, all made of light. "I'm an angel." The voice was like thunder, lightning, and soft rain all at once.

"Yeah, I-I got that." The angel didn't respond. She wondered if she'd made it mad or if it was waiting for her to stop being stupid. "What do you want with me? Why are you talking to me?"

"Because you will be too late to save Sam."

She took a step back, which was odd because she didn't remember standing up or moving to the aisle. "No, you're wrong."

"I am not wrong. And you know it."

"No," she denied, backing away even more, hip bumping into pews, uncaring. "I haven't had a vision. I don't know."

"Your gift of foresight is not limited to visions." The angel's voice was gentle but firm, like an insistant church bell off in a distance calling all to come and worship. But louder. So much louder. "It lies also in your heart, in the certainty you often feel in uncertain times."

"That's just instinct."

"Have you ever been wrong?" Rose looked up at the angel with tears streaming down her face and slowly, shook her head. "Sam will die."

"If I already know this, then why are you telling it to me?"

"Because it will be all right. You need to know that also. Eventually, it will all be all right."

She shook her head. "No! No, if Sam dies it will never be all right again!"

The angel moved forward.

Sure she was about to be struck down by lightning from heaven, Rose fell to her knees. She had faced almost certain death from countless werewolves, shapeshifters, vampires, ghosts, even a wendigo or two, but nothing before had ever driven her to her knees.

Instead of smiting her, however, the angel just grew a little brighter, and the light filled her with a sense of grace and peace. "Do not fear me, Seraphina, I will never hurt you." Her eyes were closed against the blinding light, but she felt something like a kiss on her forehead. "Take comfort."

She woke with a jolt that startled Dean so badly that he swerved into the other lane. Fortunately, that particular piece of two-lane blacktop was abandonded. "Holy!" He looked over at his sister, who was pale and searching the Impala wildly. "Hey, you ok, Rosie?"

"Wha? Yeah, yes." She took a deep breath. "Crazy dream." She frowned. "That I don't remember now. That's weird, I always remember my dreams." She leaned back in her seat, rubbing her temples. "Just that tired, I guess."

"Go back to sleep, kid, got another hour to go."

Rose saw the worried expression on Dean's face that he was too scared and tired to hide. "Hey, Deano, it's gonna be all right."


	13. House of the Setting Sun

**I'm back y'all! Found my new beta. My amazing friend Lynn who is amazing. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Rose... Darnit. **

Whether he jolted awake purely because the demon wanted him to, or because he was being shaken he never did know.

"Sam!" Jake was saying. "Sam, wake up! Ava's missing!" Sam sprang into motion, going outside with Jake. "I'll take the barn and the hotel. You take the houses."

"All right," Sam agreed. "Meet back here in ten minutes, okay?"

"Okay."

Andy stayed behind, knowing he would just get in the way if a fight should break out. When he turned back from the door, he saw Ava standing in the center of the room.

Casually, she walked over to the windowsill and dragged her finger through the salt, breaking the line.

"Ava, where'd you go?" Andy asked. "Didn't you hear us calling you?"

"Yeah…I heard you." She put her hands to her head in concentration. A cloud of black smoke appeared outside the window. With the salt line broken, it had no problems entering the room.

Andy's face drained of color. "What're you doing?"

The smoke materialized into the demonic little girl.

Andy couldn't even scream. He could only stare at his would-be killer. "Holy—"

The demon girl lunged forward and knocked him down, wasting no time in killing him. His blood spattered the wall behind him, dripping down in solid streaks of ruby red. Ava watched his corpse for a second, amused, then began screaming.

Outside, Sam heard her and ran to the scene. She was crying, pointing a shaking finger at Andy's body.

"Sam! Oh my god, it got Andy!"

"What happened?" Sam asked, staring at his friend with shock and grief.

"I don't know!"

"How'd that thing get in? Where were you?"  
>"I-I just went to get some water from the well," she answered. "I was gone maybe ten minutes."<p>

"You shouldn't have gone outside. Ava, we have to stay in here." Sam looked around the room, noticed the disturbed salt line. "Who did that?"

"I don't know, maybe Andy."

"Andy wouldn't do that," Sam argued. "Ava, that line wasn't broken when I left."

"What? You don't think that I—"

Sam cut her off. "I'll tell you what I think: five months. You're the only one with all that time you can't account for. And that headache you got? Right when the demon got Lily."

Ava seemed to shrink in on herself. "What are you saying?" she asked in a tiny, quivering voice.

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing!"

It wasn't for nothing that Sam had spent nineteen years facing evil. He stared her down, unblinking and undaunted.

"Had you going though, didn't I?" She wiped away the crocodile tears. "Yeah. I've been here a long time. And not alone, either." She shook her head. "People just _kept _showing up. Children, like us. Batches of three or four at a time."

"You killed them?" Sam asked, horror stricken. "All of them?"

"I'm the undefeated heavy-weight champ," she bragged.

"Oh my God." Sam wasn't too proud to admit that was partly a prayer.

"Don't think God has much to do with this, Sam," Ava corrected.

"How could you?"

She shrugged carelessly. "I had no choice. It was me or them. After a while, it was easy. It was even kind of fun. I just stopped fighting it."

"Fighting what?"

"Who we are, Sam," she said scornfully. "If you just quit your hand-wringing and open yourself up, you have no idea what you can do. The learning curve is so fast it's crazy, the switches that just flip in your brain. I can't believe I started out just having visions." She smiled. "Do you know what I can do now?"

Sam's guts turned to ice water, but his voice was steady. "Control demons."

"Ah, you are quick on the draw." She put her hand to head. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Sam. But it's over."

The cloud of black smoke returned to the window. Sam clutched his knife…knowing it was useless, but refusing to go down without a fight. Just as the smoke was about to enter, Jake rushed into the room. He grabbed Ava and, with a sickening crack, wrung her neck. She died instantly. The demonic smoke left the window and vanished


	14. Lost and Found

**AN: Thanks for all of the reviews. Rose is back! This part is beginning to wrap up but lots of drama ahead, including some real curveballs, and the Rose Winchester saga is far from over. Anyone looking forward to it? Thanks to my awesome beta again.**

Outside the town, near the edge of the woods, Bobby, Rose, and Dean pulled up in the Impala. "Looks like the rest of the way's on foot," Bobby remarked.

The trio grabbed their weapons out of the trunk.

"Let's go," Dean said grimly.

Back at the house, Sam and Jake stepped out into the fresh air. "I think we can make it out of here now," Sam said.

"But the Acheri demon…"

"No, no, no. Ava was summoning it, controlling it," Sam explained. "It shouldn't come back now that she's dead. We've gotta go."

"Not 'we', Sam," Jake said sadly. "Only one of us is getting out of here. I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I had a vision. That Yellow-Eyed Demon or whatever it was, he talked to me. He told me how it was."

"No, Jake, listen to me," Sam pleaded. "You can't listen to him."

"Sam, he's not letting us go. Only one. Now, if we don't play along, he'll kill us both. Now, I like you, man, I really do." There was a desperate note to Jake's voice, almost like he was trying to convince himself that he was doing the right thing too. "But you do the math here. What good's it gonna do for both of us to die? Now, I can get out of here. I can get close to the demon, I can kill the bastard."

"You can come with me," Sam argued. "We can kill him together."

"How do I know you won't turn on me?"

"I won't," Sam promised.

"I don't know that."

"Okay, look." Sam took out his knife, showed it to Jake, then put it on the ground. "Just come with me, Jake. Don't make me fight you. Don't play into what it wants."

After a pause, Jake nodded and placed the iron bar he'd been holding onto the ground as well.

Sam let out a sigh of relief. "Okay."

Jake lashed out with a vicious punch to Sam's chest, using his super strength. Sam went flying across the field and crashed onto the ground. Jake walked over, kicking down the fence in his way, and leaned over Sam.

Who stood and started fighting back, punching Jake and dodging blows. They continued on that vein for some time, Jake swinging, Sam dodging and occasionally landing in a hit of his own, until, finally, Sam was able to grab the iron bar Jake had discarded and connect it with Jake's head—knocking him out.

The thought flashed through his mind that he should kill the unconscious man at his feet, but his better, more merciful nature won over logic and he decided to leave him alone.

Sam heard a familiar voice call his name. He turned and saw Dean and Bobby hurrying down the street toward him.

"Sam!" Dean called again, picking up the pace to a run.

"Dean!" Sam was so happy to see his brother that he felt like crying. That happiness turned to fear when he saw Rose running in Dean's wake. Sam remembered the YED's promise and realized how exposed they were. "Dean! Get Rose out of here! I'll meet you somewhere!"

Behind Sam, Jake woke up. He grabbed the knife Sam had placed on the ground.

"Sam!" Rose screamed. "Look out!"

Too late, Jake stabbed the knife into Sam's back.

"No!" Dean bellowed, Rose echoing him.

Jake twisted the knife, creating a massive wound, before running away, Bobby hot on his heels.

Sam fell to his knees. Dean and Rose slid to the ground in front of him.

Dean grabbed at Sam's clothing, trying to keep him conscious. "Sam."

Sam fell forward onto Dean's shoulder, one hand outstretched blindly toward his sister. She clutched it tight, unable to formulate words.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Sam. Sam! Hey! Come here. Let me look at you." Dean put his hand on his brother's wound, covering his entire palm in blood. Rose stared at it.

"Hey, look at me. It's not that bad," he assured her. "It's not even that bad, all right, Rose?"

He felt Sam starting to go limp in his arms. "Sammy? Sam! Hey, listen to me. We're gonna patch you up, okay? You're gonna be good as new. I'm gonna take care of you. I've got you," he rambled. "That's my job, right? Watch out for you two pains-in-my-ass. Right, little brother? Sam? Sam! Sammy!"

Sam's eyes slid shut and he crumpled completely, his body lolling to the side, despite the hold Dean had on him.

Rose caught his head before it hit the ground, cradling it in her lap. "No," she half pleaded, half sobbed. "No, no, no, no! Oh, God, please!"

Tears streaming down his face, Dean held Sam's body close as he died. "Sam!"


	15. Let it End

Let It End

If Bobby hadn't been there, Rose and Dean would never have even risen from their knees. The rain began to fall as Bobby quietly urged Rose and Dean to their feet.

Dean refused to let go of Sam's cooling body, holding him in the backseat of the Impala while Bobby sped away from Cold Oak as if the devil himself was chasing them. Rose sat next to her brothers, her hand stroking Sam's hair, her tears run dry.

It was three hours until they reached the next town. Three hours of silence broken only by the sound of tires on asphalt.

Bobby pulled into the first motel he came to and made arrangments. It was dilapidated and disgusting. Bobby suspected that Sam's would not be the first dead body inside of those walls. "Come on," he gently coaxed. "Let's get him inside."

Dean nodded. He laid Sam on the mattress in their room. He pulled up a chair to the bedside, collapsed into it. Rose sat on the floor at Dean's feet, her head resting on his thigh, her hands clutching the leg of his jeans.

Bobby respectfully took the room next door to allow the two surviving Winchesters some time. He loved Sam, loved him like family, but his own grief was nothing compared to theirs. But, before he left, he made sureto leave some water and medicine bottles on the table with them.

For the next seven hours, Rose and Dean kept in constant physical contact. In fact, they moved very little. The room was mostly quiet, filled as it was with the presence of death. Dean spoke only to soothe the wracking sobs that sometimes came from Rose. Rose spoke none at all, her eyes never leaving Sam's corpse.

Eventually, Dean stood, causing Rose to make a desperate, mewling sort of noise, but he was only getting a water bottle from the supplies Bobby had left. When Rose had her attention turned back to Sam, Dean crushed up some sleeping pills and added them to the water. He gave it to his sister. "Here," he said gently, "take this. You need it."

She nodded, drank half of it in one go-not even registering the bitter taste of the crushed tablets.

When she dropped off, Dean lifted her as if she were made of glass and put her on the other bed. He covered her with his leather jacket and resumed his vigil over Sam's body, keeping one hand on her stomach, feeling the rise and fall of each breath under his fingertips.

That was how Bobby found them two hours later. "Dean? Rose?" He came through the door quietly, almost afraid of what he might find, of how he might be received. "I brought you this," he said, holding up a bucket of fried chicken. "You guys hungry?"

"No thanks," Dean said. "I'm fine."

"You should eat something."

"I said I'm fine."

"Rose'll need to eat something when she wakes up."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, but that'll be awhile."

"Why?" Bobby asked suspiciously. He saw the sleeping tablets on the table. "Boy, did you drug her?"

"She needed the sleep," Dean answered unapologetically. "She wasn't gonna get it any other way."

"Don't you need sleep too?"

A shrug was all the response Dean could muster.

"Dean...I hate to bring this up, I really do. But don't you think it's time we...bury Sam?"

"No," Dean answered quickly.

"We could, maybe..." Bobby sighed.

"Maybe what?" Dean snapped. "Torch his corpse?" He took a deep breath. "Not yet."

"I want you and Rose to come with me."

"We're not going anywhere," Dean said adamently, his fingertips digging slightly into Rose's hip.

"Dean, please," Bobby begged.

"Would you cut me some slack?" Dean pleaded in return, looking back at Sam.

"I just don't think you should stay here that's all. And," he tried appealing to the side of Dean that cared about people, "I gotta admit that I could use your help."

Dean snorted.

"Somethin' big is going down-end-of-the-world big."

"Well then let it end!" Dean screamed.

"You don't mean that," Bobby insisted.

"You don't think so? Huh? You don't think we've given enough? You don't think I've paid enough?" Dean stood up and kicked his chair away. Bobby saw that he was still wearing the shirt spattered with Sam's blood. "You don't think my baby sister has suffered enough? We're done with it! All of it! And if you know what's good for you, turn around and get the hell out of here! Go!" Dean gave Bobby a hard shove, tears fighting for escape.

Against his will, Bobby's eyes filled with tears. "All right, boy."

Dean's gaze slid to his sleeping siser, who was still oblivious to the world around her. She had a peaceful expression on her face that Dean hadn't seen enough. Knowing what she would be waking to, Dean felt his already bloody and battered heart shatter a little more.

"Bobby," he called, stopping the older man from going out the door. "Take, take Rose with you. She deserves better than I can give her. Enroll her back in school somewhere."

"Dean, she needs her brother."

"No, she needed her family, her whole family and I failed her. Please, Bobby, please," he said brokenly. "Take her and go, just go."

Bobby sighed and picked Rose up off the bed. Dean made no effort to take back his beloved leather jacket.

"You know where we'll be," Bobby said quietly. He turned his back to Dean and left the motel room.

Dean shut the door behind them and collapsed against it, heartwrenching sobs shuddering through his body.


	16. Tripple Crown

AN: Just realized that I forgot to put one of these on last time... Thanks to zanita for the incredible review. And thanks to everyone else for their support. It makes my little author heart beat faster...

Thanks as always to my incredible beta Lynn. :)

Disclaimer: *sighs* The closest I come to owning anything other than Rose is a deflated balloon formally known as Dean.

In the woods outside of Cold Oak, Jake had set up camp, miserable and alone. He remembered the screams of Sam's brother and sister, the feeling of Sam's blood flowing over his hand as he twisted the knife. He knew that the only way to save his immortal soul was to kill the evil son-of-a-bitch that had pushed him into it.

Jake didn't know what he was waiting for but the anticipation was eating up at him. He stared into his bright, cheerful campfire trying to calm his jittery nerves.

In front of him, a twig snapped. He looked up to see the Yellow-Eyed Demon leaning nonchalantly against a tree.

"Howdy, Jake."

"I'm- I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

The demon rolled his eyes and muttered to himself, "I've got a genius on my hands." He cleared his throat. "Well, congratulations, Jake. You're it-last man standing. The American Idol. I have to admit-you weren't the horse I was bettin' on, but still, I gotta admit, you came through like a champ."

"Go," Jake took a moment to gather his few remaining ounces of courage. "Go to hell."

"Been there," the demon said with a shrug, "done that."

Jake's anger at the YED's flippancy filled in the gaps from where his bravery had fled. "Everything you put me through-dragging me to that place, making me kill those people..."

"All part of the beauty pageant. Jake, I needed the strongest and that's you." The demon stepped back and gave Jake a once over with a critical eye. "You know? I really thought about the super strength. It just seemed so mundane. Man of Steel. Blugh. The best villians were always the psychics. I mean, did you ever see Star Wars? Darth Vader was a masterpiece. Until he turned into a complete pussy there at the end." Yellow Eyes shook his head sorrowfully. "I mean, if Luke had been my son I would've just killed him off nice and slow, the whiny bastard."

Jake ignored the Star Wars rant. "You need me? For what?"

"Oh, I've got a laundry list of tasty things for you," the demon said with a grin.

"The only thing I'm gonna do is wake up, hunt you down, and kill you myself," Jake vowed.

"You know...others have tried. It's not easy. Trust me, Jake, you wanna be a good little soldier here."

"And if I'm not?"

The demon came close and slung his arm around Jake's shoulders. With the tone of a father imparting great wisdom he said, "If you're a bad little soldier, well, that dear old grandmama of yours and that adorable baby sister, I'll make certain that they both live long enough to know the chewy taste of their own intestines." He laughed at the terrified expression on Jake's face. "Does it really seem like I'm the bluffing type?"

"What do you want me to do?" Jake's voice was tired and defeated.

"Like I tell you, Genius."


	17. If You go Down to the Crossroads

AN: Fast update people! Yay! Still own nothing...

When Dean picked himself off of the floor, he resumed his seat at Sam's side. "You know, when we were kids-you couldn't have been more than seven-you just started asking questions." Dean knew Sam couldn't hear him, but that didn't stop him from talking to Sam anyway. "Like, 'Why do we always have to move around?' and 'Where'd Dad go'?"

"I remember I begged you. 'Quit askin' Sammy. Man, you don't wanna know.'" He chuckled softly, wiping tears out of the corner of his eye. "Rose never asked me any questions. I always thought she was either too young or had just talked to Dad. I just, I just wanted you to be kids...Just for a little while longer. I always wanted to protect you, keep you safe. That's why I let Dad send Rose to school, why I checked on you at Stamford every other month for four years." He choked back a sob.

"It was always my responsibilty. Dad never even had to tell me, even though he did. It's like I only had one job..." his voice cracked. "I had one job."

He stood and moved to the wall, punching it so hard he broke plaster and knuckles. "And I screwed it up! I blew it! And for that, I'm sorry." The tears started to fall once more. "I guess that's what I do. I let down the people I love. I let Dad down. I let Rose down more times than I can count. And, now, I guess I'm just supposed to let you down too." He sat on the bed this time, his hand brushing Sam's always messy hair off of his face. "How can I, Sammy?" He looked down at the leather bracelets Rose had made that first Christmas back on the road, one for each brother. They never took them off. "How am I supposed to live with that?"

Dean wiped away his tears only to find them replaced with fresh ones. "What am I supposed to do? Sammy. God. What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do?"

Bobby had hotwired a car to take him back to the truck stop where his had been left. Unfortunately, it had a nearly empty gastank. He was inside paying the cashier when Rose woke up.

She shouldn't have been awake for another six hours at least with all of those drugs in her system. Dean was counting on it.

He wasn't counting on someone else having a different agenda.

While Rose was asleep, she had a dream.

She was standing in the middle of a dark room, unable to see anything at all. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a bright light shone from the endless space. It was blindingly white but somehow her eyes didn't hurt.

"Wake up, Rose," came a voice that was somehow as gentle as rain and as loud as thunder. "Sam is with us here. He's happy. He's safe. But Dean is about to throw everything away. He needs you."

She felt the light envelope her and what seemed like a kiss being placed on her forehead. Her shoulder burned like a brand and she fell back into conciousness.


	18. I'd Call That a Bargain

AN: You can thank my beta Lynn for the pace :) And cookies to anyone who gets this and last chapter's cultural refrences.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Rose.

Dean drove recklessly though the countryside-going full speed down the dirt tracks until he came to a crossroads. He stopped the Impala and grabbed the already prepared cigar box riding shotgun. Inside were a bottle of graveyard dirt, summoning herbs, and one of Dean's own fake ids.

He buried the box in the center of the crossroads and waited. Not feeling very patient, he only let a few seconds pass before yelling out. "Oh come on already!" He screamed. "Show your face, you bitch!"

"Easy sugar," said a soft woman's drawl from behind him. "You'll wake the neighbors."

He whirled around to see the crossroads demon-possessing the body of a beautiful brunette in a long, black, strapless evening gown. "Dean," she cooed. "It's so good to see you." She inhaled deeply and let her breath out slowly like she was enjoying the scent of an expensive perfume. "I mean it. Look at you. Gone and got most of your family obliterated. It's so sweet." She laughed. "You'll have to excuse me for a moment. Sometimes a girl just has to stop and smell the roses."

"I should send you straight back to hell," Dean snarled.

"Oh, you really should," the demon agreed with a smirk. "But you won't, and I know why."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Following in Daddy's footsteps." She started circling Dean like a vulture. "You wanna make a deal. Little Sammy back from the dead and-let me guess-you're offering your own soul?"

"There are a hundred different demons who'd love to get their hands on it," he said with a dry, humorless laugh. "And it's all yours. And all you've got to do is bring Sam back. And give me ten years-ten years, then you come for me."

"You must be joking," the demon scoffed.

"It's the same deal you offer everybody else," Dean protested.

"You're not everybody else." The demon got close enough to whisper her next words in Dean's ear. "Why would I want to give you anything? Just keep your gutter soul." She kissed Dean's ear and smiled when he flinched away. "It's too tarnished anyway."

"Nine years," Dean haggled.

"No."

"Eight."

"You keep going, I'll keep saying no."

"Okay, five years." Dean knew he sounded desperate and he hated himself for it. "Five years and my bill comes due. Five years or no deal."

The demon smiled and moved so that her lips hovered over his-ready to kiss and seal the bargain. "Then no deal," she murmers.

"Fine."

"Fine," she agreed, starting to walk away. "Make sure you bury Sam before he starts stinking up the joint. Oh, and Dean, Rose is a big girl, she can help dig I'm sure."

Dean felt like crying, but he refused to in front of a damn demon. "Wait!" Dean yelled after her.

"It's a fire sale," the demon said to herself, "and everything must go."

"What do I have to do?" he asked brokenly.

"First of all, quit groveling. Needy guys are such a turnoff." She sighed dramatically. "Look...I shouldn't be doing this. I could get in a lot of trouble. But, what can I say?" She shrugged and smiled. "I've got a blind spot for you Dean. You're like a...puppy. You're just too much fun to play with." She patted him on the head in point. "I'll do it."

"You'll bring him back?" Dean hardly dared to hope that she wasn't just screwing with him again.

"I will. And because I'm such a saint, I'll give you one month. And one month only. It's enough time to say all of your goodbyes. But, here's the thing. If you try to weasel or welch your way out, then this deal is out. Sam drops dead. He's back to rotting meat in less than a heartbeat."

She paused and smiled at Dean with all of her very white teeth. "So...it's a better deal than your dad ever got. What do you say?"

Dean grabbed the demon and kissed her.

He'd no sooner gotten into the Impala to start the drive back to his motel when his cell phone rang. The caller id said "Bobby Singer."

"What Bobby?"

"Dean?" said his sister. She sounded scared.

"Rose?" Dean asked. "Where's Bobby? Are you ok?"

"Gas station. I stole his phone. And a car. What did you do, Dean?"

"What do you mean?"

"I had a dream, Dean. I don't know, someone, maybe myself, something told me you were throwing everything away... Dean! What did you do?"

Dean took a deep breath. "Rose, I had to..." he began.

He was cut off by a choked sob. "I'll be there soon."


	19. Reunion

AN: Thanks to angeleyenc for being my most loyal reviewer. Your input is appreciated. :) However, I'd love to hear from everyone else who reads this. Please. It makes my little author heart burst from happiness. Thanks to my beta Lynn for being awesome. You should thank her too because she is the only reason this doesn't completely suck.

Disclaimer: I own nothing at all. Well, I own Rose, but other than that I own nothing.

Sam woke up confused, sore, hungry, lost, and with a severe ache in his lower back. He stood up, his head oddly fuzzy. He usually woke up quickly, immediately aware, but it was taking longer than usual for his senses to come back to him.

When he finally pulled himself together, he started looking around, half expecting the YED to be hiding under the bed.

He wasn't.

Once Sam had established that there were no enemies in the room, he turned to the mirror to address that pain. Holding his breath, he lifted his shirt, straining his neck to see his reflection. "Shit" he mumbled in shock. There was a jagged, white scar just above the small of his back on his spine.

Dean had been standing outside the hotel room for ten minutes before he gathered up the courage to actually open the door. His heart nearly stopped beating when he saw his brother standing there, alive and well and whole.

"Sammy." He breathed his brother's name like a prayer.

"Hey," Sam replied, grimacing when Dean pulled him into a tight hug. "Ow. Uh, Dean."

Dean let him go quickly, putting both hands on Sam's shoulders. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, man. I'm just...I'm happy to see you up and around, that's all. Come on, sit down."

The way Dean was looking at him, Sam guessed he must have been close to death so he indulged his brother. But that didn't stop him from being curious. "Okay, Dean...what happened to me? And where's Rose? Is she ok?"

"Well, what do you remember?" Dean hoped that it wouldn't be much. "And Bobby took her once, once we knew you were gonna be okay. She needed some sleep."

"I-I saw you and Rose and Bobby, and...I felt this pain. This sharp pain, like, like white hot, you know. And then you started running at me and...that's about it."

Relieved, Dean leaned back a little in the rickety chair. "Yeah, that-that coward, he stabbed you in the back. You lost a ton of blood. It was pretty touch and go there for a while."

Something about Dean's answer didn't make sense to Sam. "But, Dean, you can't patch up a wound that bad."

"No, Bobby could," he lied. "Who was that guy anyway?"

"His name is Jake. Did you get him?"

"No," Dean admitted ruefully. "He disappeared into the woods."

"We've got to find him, Dean." Sam stood abruptly, scooting the chair back forcefully. "And I swear I'm gonna tear that son-of-a-bitch apart."

Dean jumped onto his own feet and grabbed ahold of Sam's sleeve. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy there, Van Damme. You just woke up, all right?" He put his palm on the side of Sam's neck and reassured himself that there was a pulse beating steadily under the skin. "Let's get you something to eat. Huh? You want something to eat?"

Sam nodded.

"I'm starving. Come on."

They had no more turned back to the door when it opened and a gasp was heard, followed by the sound of running feet.

"Sammy!" Rose threw herself against Sam's chest, holding him tight and holding back tears. Looking at her, Dean knew that he had made the right choice.

Sam, on the other hand, was just confused. "Hey, Rose, I'm ok. Bobby patched me up and I'm fine." He rubbed her back soothingly and completely missed the pleading glance Dean gave their sister and the tiny nod she gave in return.

After a moment, Rose pulled away and smiled at the both of them. "Can we go get Chinese now?"


	20. Deception

AN: Here again my lovelies :) There are seven more chapters of Hells Bells *sob* and then a sneak peak of The Rose Winchester Chronicals Part Three: Dead Man Walking. Yay! *sneak peak to the sneak peak...a certain angel may show up and reveal some answers...*

They picked up some of everything: Chinese, pizza, and fried chicken. Sam's story was only interrupted by the sounds of chewing and "pass the lo mein."

"And that's when you guys showed up," Sam finished with a groan, pushing away the remains of his third plate.

"That's awful," Rose (who had finished a while ago) said, handing him a napkin. "Poor Andy."

"The demon said that he only wanted one of us to walk out alive."

"He told you that?" Dean asked, closing the lid of the pizza box contentedly.

"Yes," Sam scoffed. "SoB didn't even show up in person, he appeared in a dream."

"He tell you anything else?" Rose asked, playing with the edge of Sam's sleeve.

He thought about the demon blood and the attack on Rose. "No. Nothing." He noticed Rose fondling the material and almost stopped her but felt guilty for lying and didn't. "That was it." He watched her for a minute and shook his head. "What I don't get is, if the demon only wanted one of us, how did Jake and I both get out alive?"

"Well, I mean," Dean answered quickly, "they left you for dead. I'm sure they thought it was over." He refused to meet Rose's eyes and changed the subject. "So, now that Yellow-Eyes has Jake, what's he going to do with him?"

"I don't know," Sam said, "but whatever it is, we gotta stop him."

The instant Sam was on his feet, so was Dean.

"Well, hold on. You need to get your rest. We got time."

"No," Sam replied slowly. "We don't."

"Sam," Dean pleaded. "Oceans aren't boiling, okay? Frogs aren't raining from the sky. Let's get your strength back first."

Sam leaned back a little against the table. "Well, did you call the Roadhouse? Do they know anything?"

"Yeah." If possible, Dean's face seemed to fall a little. Rose wrapped her arms around herself in a self-protective gesture.

"Guys, what is it?" Sam asked slowly.

Dean sat back down and put his hand on Rose's shoulder. "The Roadhouse burned to the ground. Ash is dead. Ellen probably is too, along with a lot of other hunters."

Sam sat back down as well, mind reeling at the thought. "Demons?"

Rose nodded. "We think, maybe, Ash said he found something."

"What?"

"Bobby's working on that now."

"Well, come on then. Bobby's only a few hours away." Sam started to stand again, only to find Dean in his way again.

"Stop, Sam, stop. Dammit! You almost died there." (Both men failed to notice Rose's hitch in breath). "I mean, what would I have-" Dean trailed off for a moment, an expression of equal parts guilt and fear crossing his face. "You just take care of yourself for a little bit, huh?" He begged. "Just for a little bit? Please?"

"I'm sorry." And Sam really was. He didn't know what exactly was wrong with Dean, but he regretted not being able to help. "But no."


	21. Circling the Wagons

AN: Posting two in a day because they are both so short...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Rose and Dean's cut in time. Because I'm mean and didn't give him a whole year...

Bobby got up from the table and his second beer of the hour when he heard someone knocking on his door. Praying it was Rose and he wouldn't have to call Dean after all, he opened it quickly. Rose was there, with Dean, but it was the third member of their party just made him stand there blinking and nonplussed.

"Hey, Bobby," Dean said nervously while Rose just handed him his cell phone sheepishly.

"Hey, Bobby," Sam echoed when Bobby just continued to stare.

"Sam." He had to clear his throat when it cracked. "It's good to see you...up and around."

"Yeah, well, thanks for patching me up."

"Don't mention it." Bobby stared at the spot where the knife had been buried in Sam's back as Sam passed him on his way into the house.

"Well, Sam's better," Dean said, giving Bobby the same pleading look he'd given Rose back at the motel. "And we're back in it now, so...what do you know?"

Bobby silently agreed to play along by shutting the door behind the trio and answering Dean's question. "Well, I found something. But I'm not sure what it means."

"What it it?" Sam asked.

"Demonic omens...like a frickin' tidal wave. Cattle deaths. Lightening storms. They skyrocketed from out of nowhere. Here." He pointed to the state of Wyoming on a very detailed map of the United States. "All around here, except for this one place, Southern Wyoming."

"Wyoming?" Rose repeated. "The only person who lives there is Tom Selleck. Maybe that's just not enough to interest them," she joked weakly.

"I dunno, but that one area's totally clean-spotless. It's almost as if..."Bobby trailed off, not eager to finish that thought.

"What?" Sam persisted.

"The demons are surrounding it."

"But you don't know why?" Rose asked with a frown, looking closely at the map.

"No, and by this point my eyes are swimming from looking at that damn map for too long. Sam, Rose, would you take a look at it?" Bobby requested. "Maybe you can catch something I couldn't."

"Yeah, sure," Sam agreed, while Rose plopped into the closest chair, making her brother lean over her to see it.

"Come on, Dean," Bobby ordered. "I got some more books in the truck. Help me lug 'em in."


	22. Just a Family Tradition

AN: I was thinking about making Rose confront Dean...but I kept it this way mostly for JustWhelmed. :) Thanks to everyone for the reviews. I hope I keep you all as readers for the remainder of the Rose Winchester Chronicles.

Disclaimer: I own nothing important. *sob*

Dean and Bobby walked to the junkyard (Bobby's public cover was as the owner of a salvage yard) in silence; until Bobby spun Dean around and smacked his shoulder. "You stupid ass! What did you do? What did you do?" He gave Dean a shove. "You made a deal...For Sam didn't you? How long did they give you?"

"Bobby," Dean said quietly, silently begging the older man to drop it.

"How long?" Bobby demanded, choking back tears.

"One month." Dean's voice was as broken and defeated as Bobby had ever heard it, all that famous Winchester defiance and spirit gone.

"Damn it, Dean."

"Which is why we gotta find this yellow-eyed son of a bitch. That's why I gotta kill him myself." He shrugged. "I've got nothing to lose now, right?"

Something in Bobby snapped and he grabbed Dean by the collar. "I could throttle you!"

"And send me downstairs ahead of schedule?"

"What is it with you Winchesters, huh?" He gave Dean a small shake for emphasis. "You, your dad. You're both just _itching _to throw yourselves into the pit."

"That's my point," Dean explained, desperate almost. "Dad brought me back, Bobby. I'm not even supposed to be here! At least, this way, something good could come out of it, you know? It's like my life could mean something."

"What? And it didn't before? Have you got that low an opinion of yourself?" Bobby's voice went from incredulous to furious, and he started shaking Dean again. "Are you that screwed in the head?"

Dean made no effort to pull away from the painful grip, he just waited until the older man stopped on his own. "I couldn't let him die, Bobby. I just couldn't." Dean hadn't sounded so lost since Rose was 2 and had a steadily rising fever. "He's my brother, Bobby, my Sammy."

"How's your _brother _gonna feel when he knows you're going to hell? How's your sister going to feel? Just look at her, Dean. She's a kid who's lost both brothers today."

Despite his best efforts, tears spilled out of Dean's eyes. "I couldn't help her, Bobby. I wasn't even able to hang on for me. She needs Sam more than she needs me. Sam can take better care of her. They'll be ok."

"Do you really think they'll be ok?" Bobby demanded to know. "Knowing you're going to hell for them? How did you feel when your daddy went for you?"

"You can't tell them," Dean begged. "You can take a swing at me. Whatever you got to do, but, please, Bobby, please don't tell them."

It was the begging that broke Bobby's last reserve. He broke down into sobs, pulling Dean into a tight hug.

Their moment was cut short when they heard a clank come from a distant part of the junkyard. They wiped their eyes and crawled to the side of a car, lunging for the intruder. Once they had the figure by the shoulders, they recognized her.

"Ellen?" Dean asked with disbelief.

She nodded.

"Ellen. Oh, God."


	23. Devil's Trap

AN: Yes, angeleyenc, Dean was supposed to get a year but I changed it. Honestly, because I am a cruel, capricious author who didn't want to write a year or have a giant missing chunk of time. And, for all of y'all...heads up. Parts Three and Four of the Rose Winchester Chronicles are pretty AU. For one thing...Season Six Castiel does not exist.

Inside Bobby's house, Ellen sat at the kitchen table while Bobby poured a shot from the silver flask he always wore at his hip and pushed it toward her.

"Bobby, is this really necessary?" she asked.

"Just a belt of Holy Water. It shouldn't hurt."

She rolled her eyes and swallowed. When she didn't react like the water was actually acid, Rose ran over to her and hugged her.

Ellen hugged her back for a long moment, holding her so tightly that she threatened to bruise a rib, but Rose didn't pull away. The older woman just buried her head in the teen's collarbone and inhaled the scent of cheap detergent and motel soap. Ellen had always tried to mother Rose, a sweet girl a few years younger than her own daughter Jo. Ellen thought Rose had already seen too much darkness in her life. She never thought she would be using Rose as a lifeline and a comfort.

After several breaths, she pushed Rose away gently and turned her attention back to Bobby. "Whiskey, now, if you don't mind."

"Ellen, what happened?" Dean asked. "How'd you get out?"

"I wasn't supposed to. I was supposed to be in there with everybody else. But," she said harshly, passing Bobby her empty glass, "we ran out of pretzels, of all things. It was pure dumb luck." She drank the second shot and winced at the burn. "Anyway, that's when Ash called me, panic in his voice. He told me to look in the safe. Then the call cut out." Her voice cracked, and she patted Rose's hand when the teen squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "By the time I got back, the flames were sky-high. And everybody was dead. I couldn't have been gone more than 15 minutes.

"I'm so sorry, Ellen," Rose said quietly.

"A lot of good people died in there. And I got to live." She rubbed her eyes dry with her sleeve. "Lucky me."

"Ellen," Bobby poured her a third belt. "You mentioned a safe..."

"Yeah, a hidden safe we keep in the basement." She pushed the drink away, her need to work overcoming her need to forget.

"Demons get what was in it?" Bobby asked.

"No." Ellen pulled a map from her jacket pocket, unfolding it and setting it down on the table. There were several black lines and Xs scrawled across it.

"Wyoming again," Dean muttered, finishing Ellen's whiskey. "What does that mean?" He pointed to the lines all over the map.

When no one knew, Bobby got down a large book. "I wonder..." He skimmed the pages. "I don't believe it." He set the heavy tome on the table with a thump.

"Did you find a clue?" Sam asked.

"A lot more than that. Each X here, is an abandoned frontier church-all mid 19th century. And all of them built by Samuel Colt."

Dean made a gun out of his thumb and forefinger. "The demon-killing, gunmaking Samuel Colt?"

"Yep. And there's more. He built private railway lines." Bobby traced the black lines on the map with a marker, "connecting church to church. It just happens to lay out like this." He removed his hands to reveal the shape of a star.

"Tell me," Dean pleaded, "that's not what I think it is."

"It's a Devil's Trap, " Sam realized. "A 100 square mile Devil's Trap."

"That's brilliant," Dean breathed in awe. "Iron lines the demons can't cross.

"I've never heard of anything that massive." Ellen looked at Bobby. "Have you?"

"No one has," Bobby answered.

"After all these years none of the lines are broken?" Dean asked. "I mean, it still works."

"Definitely."

Dean looked up at his little brother, surprised by his conviction. "How do you know?"

"All these omens that Bobby found. I mean, the demons, they must be circling and they can't get it."

Bobby nodded. "Yeah, well...they're trying."

Ellen's eyes went from Bobby to Sam. "Why? What's inside?"

Dean shrugged and looked over the map. "Doesn't seem like much is. Only thing I can see is an old cowboy cemetery."

"What's so important about a cemetery?" Ellen looked over Dean's shoulder. "What's Colt trying to protect."

"Well, unless..." Rose let out a deep breath, trying to quash the uneasiness in her stomach at her own thought.

"Unless what?" Dean asked.

"What if Colt wasn't trying to keep the demons out?" she asked in a small voice. "What if he was trying to keep something in?"

"Well, that's a comforting thought," Ellen mumbled, thinking about asking for another drink.

"Yeah, you think?" Dean snapped and earned himself an eyeroll from the older woman.

"Could they do it, Bobby?" Rose asked. "Could they get inside?"

"This thing's so powerful," Bobby said thoughtfully, "you'd practically need an A-bomb to destroy it. No way a full-blood demon gets across."

"No," Sam said suddenly, feeling his fists clench. "But I know what could."


	24. The Man Who Would Be King

AN: A few of the following chapters have the same names as various Supernatural episodes. Accidental, just myself and the screenwriters making the same cultural connections.

Jake pulled onto a winding,well-forested backroad and parked his stolen blue Mercury in front of a railroad track. He got out and took a very deep breath, waiting. For what, he didn't know.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he spun around to find the Yellow Eyed Demon standing behind him.

"Howdy, Jake. So, did you have a nice trip?"

"I'm here," Jake said, stepping back despite himself. "I did what you asked, now what?"

The demon waved his arm in the direction of the road. "Fifty miles thataway." He pointed across the tracks. "There's a cemetery. A crypt. You've got to open that for me. Think you can do that, sport?"

Jake took another involuntary step backwards but his tone was resolute. "You know what? Screw yourself and your freaky orders. Go do it yourself."

"Oh, I would. But I can't." The demon completely ignored Jake's refusal. " I can't go that way. Not yet at least. But if you're gonna open that crypt for me, you're gonna need a key." He pulled the Colt out of his jacket pocket and held it in the air.

"A gun?" Jake asked with clear disbelief in his voice.

"Oh, this isn't just any gun, Jake," Yellow Eyes explained. "This is the only gun in the entire universe that can shoot me dead." He pointed the gun at his own head and mimed pulling the trigger.

"Is that so?"

"Yep. Here, take it." He handed the gun to Jake who cocked it and aimed between the eyes. "Oh, my," Yellow Eyed said sarcastically. "I'm shocked at this unexpected turn of events. Go ahead," he dared. "Jake, squeeze that trigger. Be all that you can be. This will all be over. Your life can go back to normal. Of course," he chuckled as if the thought had just occurred to him, "the Army won't take you back 'cause you're AWOL. But I'm sure you can get your old job at the factory back. But then, on the other hand, the rest of your life, and your family's, could be money and honey, health and wealth, everyday is ice cream sundae. And all you gotta do is this one little thing."

"Why me?" Jake asked after a long moment.

"Oh, Jake," the Yellow Eyed Demon answered. "It's got to be you. I've been waiting for you for a very long time. You're my leader." He stepped closer to the barrel of the gun. "You open that crypt and you will have your army."

"You're talking about the end of the world," Jake said quietly.

The demon shrugged. "Maybe. But not for your family. For them, it's the beginning of a world where they'll be protected. Even better, where they'll be royalty. Buddy boy, you have the chance to get in on the ground floor of a thrilling opportunity. What do you say? It's your call."

Jake slowly lowered the gun.

"Attaboy."


	25. When the Levee Breaks

AN: Thanks for all of the positive reviews everyone. The Rose Winchester Chronicles were a daunting task starting out. Such a beloved fandom and such a lengthy product. But we're almost halfway completed and everyone still seems to want me to continue... That makes me happy. Thanks again to my beta Lynn and again, I own nothing. Sadly. Except for Rose.

The sky was pitch black by the time Jake got to the cemetery. He walked past the graves, not realizing that he was walking past enemies.

"Hey, Jake," Sam said, stepping out from behind a large tombstone. Dean, Rose, Ellen, and Bobby followed from their own hiding places, guns pointed at Jake.

Jake ignored them, staring at the man he'd murdered. "Wait...you were dead. I killed you."

"Yeah?" Sam scoffed. "Well, next time finish the job."

"I did," Jake argued. "I cut through your spinal cord, man." (Sam glanced at Dean who refused to meet his eyes). "You can't be alive! You can't be!"

There was almost a note of hysteria to Jake's voice so Bobby spoke up. "Okay, just take it real easy there, son."

"And if I don't?"

"Wait and see," Sam threatened in a more dangerous voice than his siblings were used to hearing.

"What? You a tough guy all of a sudden?" Jake mocked. "You gonna kill me?"

"It's a thought."

"You had your chance. You couldn't do it."

Sam adjusted his gun to better aim it at Jake's heart. "I won't make that mistake twice."

Jake started laughing.

"What's so funny, you little bitch?" Dean asked, venom dripping from his voice.

"Hey, sweetheart," Jake said, looking at Rose. "Do me a favor; put that gun to your head."

Gritting her teeth and trying with all of her might, Rose couldn't stop her own arm from pointing the barrel at her temple. "See, that Ava girl was right. Once you put your mind to it, there's all sorts of new Jedi mind tricks you can learn." He looked over at Rose again and smirked. "I wonder what else I can make you do..."

"Let her go!" both Winchesters demanded.

"Shoot him," Rose said evenly.

Jake just laughed. "You'll be mopping up skull before you get a shot off. Now, everybody, put your guns down. Except you, sugar." Four guns dropped. "Okay, thank you."

Jake pulled the Colt out of his pocket. While he was inserting it into the hole in the crypt doors, Rose pushed out psychically and wrenched the gun away from her head before she could shoot herself.

At that instant, Sam shot Jake four times in the back. He fell to the ground and Sam moved to stand over him.

"Please," Jake begged, gasping for air. "Don't, please."

Sam's only answer was to shoot him three more times in the chest, blood spattering up onto his face.

He then turned with the others to watch the two separate engravings spin in counterclockwise circles until they were going to fast that all human eyes could see were blurs. They stopped suddenly.

"Oh, no," Bobby said quietly.

"Bobby, what is it?" Ellen asked, terrified.

"It's Hell."

Rose heard the doors starting to swing open, so she ran up to the crypt and yanked out the Colt.

"Take cover!" Bobby ordered. "Now!"

The group dove behind tombstones as the doors finally burst open. A large, black mess of whirling, screaming demon smoke shot straight upwards. Even Samuel Colt's trap couldn't contain that kind of power. The iron rails broke, and the demons started escaping into the world.

"What's happening?" Dean yelled over the noise.

"That's a Devil's Gate!" Ellen screamed back. "A damn door to Hell!"

"We've gotta shut it!" Bobby led the way, followed by Ellen and the Winchester boys.

Rose looked down at the Colt in her hands, opening the chamber. One bullet. A spark of mixed terror and anticipation fled down her spine. "If the demon gave this to Jake...then maybe..."

A storm started, lightning flashed as the Yellow Eyed Demon appeared behind Rose. He yanked the gun out of her hand and into his own telekinetically.

"Little girls should not play with their Daddies' guns." He tossed Rose against a headstone, the stone letters cut into her forehead, blood trickling down into her eyes. She lay there stunned, barely clinging to consciousness.

Sam and Dean turned just in time to see their sister go flying. "Rose!" they both yelled, letting go of the doors and running toward her.

The demon pinned them both to trees. "I'll get to you in a minute, Sam. But I'm proud of you-knew you had it in you." He slammed Dean into the ground. "Sit a spell. So, Dean...I got to thank you. You see, demons can't resurrect people." He leaned down low so that only Dean could hear him. "Unless a deal is made. I know, red tape-it'll make you nuts." He patted Dean's shoulder. "But, thanks to you, Sammy's back in rotation." He laughed. "Now, I wasn't counting on that, but I'm glad. I liked him better than Jake anyhow. Tell me, Dean, have you ever heard the expression 'If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.'?"

"You call that deal good?" Dean choked out.

"Well, it's a better shake than your dad ever got. And you never wondered why? I'm surprised at you. I mean...you saw what your brother did to Jake, right? That was pretty cold, wasn't it?" The demon chuckled and shook his head. "How certain are you that what you brought back is one hundred percent pure Sam?" He gave Dean an affectionate punch to the jaw. "After all, you're the one who always says, 'what's dead should stay dead.' Anyway..." He stood up and aimed the gun at Dean's head. "Thanks a bunch. I knew I kept you alive for some reason. Until now that is. I couldn't have done it without your pathetic, self-loathing, self-destructive desire to sacrifice yourself for your family."

He made an elaborate show of cocking the Colt, when suddenly, he was grabbed from behind. By the soul of John Winchester. Somehow, the oldest Winchester had crawled from the pit. He looked wraithlike and insubstantial but he had an iron grip on the demon.

The demon left the body it had been possessing, the man long since dead. John kept ahold of the smoke for just long enough for Dean to crawl over to the Colt.

The demon broke free of John's hold and re-entered the host, but it was too late. As soon as the YED stood, Dean pulled the trigger.

The Winchester siblings didn't spare a glance for their fallen foe-staring instead at their father. Their stares were soon joined by those of Bobby and Ellen, who had finally managed to wrestle the doors shut.

John walked to Dean and put his hand on his oldest son's shoulder. Both had tears leaking from their eyes. "You did good, boy."

Dean nodded, unable to speak.

John turned to Sam, who was kneeling next to Rose to make sure she was ok. "Sammy," he breathed, smiling at the son with whom he'd fought so often and so hard. He frowned, however, when he got to his daughter. "Growin' up too fast, Rosie. But I can see it now, what they were talkin' about."

"Dad, what?" she asked brokenly.

John just smiled at all of his children and looked up. A white light surrounded him, so bright the boys had to look away. Rose, though, could stand it, and she almost thought she saw Mary Winchester in the glow. But then John, Mary, and the light were gone.

It was over.


	26. Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't

AN: Thank you for all of the positive reviews! This is the next to last chapter of Hells Bells . This saga, Zanita, is only half way through. I am so glad that you want me to continue. I still have a lot of ideas for Rose and the boys.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Rose and the little stuffed horse Dean won for her at a fair when she was three that she keeps at the bottom of her duffle bag. His name is Impala. But shuuuush... You don't know about that.

After several astonished moments of silence, the Winchesters walked-Rose leaning heavily on Sam since her head was still spinning-over to the corpse of the Yellow Eyed Demon. They stared down at it, no one speaking, each trying to sort through the flood of emotions running through them.

Finally Dean took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, check that off the to-do list."

Rose laughed and threw both arms around him.

"You did it," Sam said quietly, disbelievingly.

"I didn't do it alone." Dean looked at the place where they had last seen their father standing.

"Do you think Dad really..." Rose disengaged herself from her brother's jacket. "Do you really think he climbed outta hell?" She took a hand of each sibling, not caring how much of a chick flick gesture it was.

Neither brother pulled away.

Dean shrugged. "The door was open. If anybody was stubborn enough to do it..."

Sam chuckled weakly. "Yeah. Where do you think he is now?"

Rose answered "With Mom" at the same moment Dean answered "I don't know."

Sam shook his head, staring at the body. "I can't believe it. Our whole lives, everything, it's all been preparing for this and now. I-" he laughed, a mixture of pleasure and shock. "I don't know what to say."

"I do." Dean leaned down as close as he could to the body without letting Rose's hand drop. "That was for our mom, you son of a bitch." He looked up at his siblings and caught Rose staring at Hell's Gates. "You ok?"

"Y-yeah," she said with a shiver. "Just, I dunno, that place gives me weird feelings." Like the feeling she would be coming back.

They started walking back to the Impala. With a heavy heart, Sam turned to Dean. "You know, when Jake saw me...it was like he saw a ghost. I mean, hell, you heard him, Dean. He thought he killed me."

"I'm glad he was wrong." Dean silently pleaded with his sister not to say anything.

She didn't meet his gaze. "He wasn't."

Sam looked at her. "What happened after I was stabbed?"

"I don't know," she answered in a small, tired voice. "Dean slipped me sleeping pills and sent me with Bobby."

"Dean?"

"I already told you," Dean insisted. "Rose was just upset. You were ok."

"Dean," Sam argued. "I know that isn't true."

"Sam, we just killed the demon. Can we celebrate for a minute?" He pleaded. "Rose?"

"Did you sell your soul for me?" Sam asked, his voice cracking. "Like Dad did for you?"

"Oh, come on. No!" Dean practically screamed his denial.

"Tell me the truth," Sam said quietly. "Dean, tell me the truth."

"Sammy," Dean breathed.

"Rose, how could you not tell me?" Sam demanded.

"Because I didn't wanna believe it." She quickly wiped her eyes before the tears could come out. Showing affection was a lot different then showing weakness.

Sam turned back to Dean. "How long do you get?"

"One month." Dean looked down at his boots, suddenly very interested in a scuff on the toe of the left one. "I got one month."

"You shouldn't have done that," Sam said angrily but his voice cracked with the sadness. "How could you do that?"

"Don't you get mad at me, Sammy," Dean begged. "Don't you do that. I had to. I had to look out for you both. You and Rose. That's my job."

"And what do you think we're supposed to do?" Rose interrupted his pleas. "We're a family Dean, we gotta look out for each other. All of us."

Dean looked at her, completely confused. "What?"

"You've saved our lives over and over," Sam explained. "I mean, you sacrifice everything for us, Dean. Don't you think we'd do the same for you?"

"You're our big brother," Rose added, "there's nothing we wouldn't do for you."

Dean said nothing, staring at them as if these were strange, foreign concepts to him.

Sam laid his hand on Rose's shoulder. "We don't care what it takes. We're gonna get you out of this."

Rose nodded. "Guess we gotta save your ass for a change."

Slowly, Dean smiled. It grew until he looked like a kid in a candy store. "Yeah."

Seeing that whatever sensitive, familial moment the Winchesters were having was probably over, Ellen and Bobby joined the trio. "Well," Ellen said, "the Yellow Eyed Demon might be dead. But a lot more got through that gate."

"How many, you think?" Dean asked.

"Hundred," Sam estimated. "Maybe two hundred."

"It's an army," Rose realized. "He unleashed an army."

Bobby took his trucker cap off and wiped his brow. "Hope to hell you kids are ready. 'Cause the war has just begun."

"Well, then." Dean opened the trunk and threw the Colt inside. Smiling at his siblings, he shrugged. "We got work to do."


	27. Lips of an Angel

AN: This is the last chapter of Hells Bells. Folks, it's been a good ride. :) Zanita, that was the nicest thing. I'm glad that you have so enjoyed this. And thanks Angeleye for all the comments. Stay tuned because I will be posting a sneak peak at the Rose Winchester Chronicles Part Three: Dead Man Walking...

Disclaimer: I still own nothing, Sadly.

Hours later, Sam and Dean were leaning against the Impala where it was parked outside of a hotel room. Rose was asleep inside on the couch.

"Why're we out here, Sam?" Dean asked, rubbing his tired eyes. "Instead of in there sleeping. I'm not gonna lie, I'm beat."

"Because the demon told me something else." Sam chewed on his bottom lip nervously for a moment. "About Rose."

Dean nodded slowly. "Tell me."

Sam told him how, in the dream, the demon had tried to kill Rose, how Mary had known him, how Rose was protected somehow, how the demon had still been worried.

Dean stared at their door, suddenly wanting to check on Rose. "What the hell, Sammy?"

"I don't know, whatever's going on out there though, it looks like Rose is a part of it..."

"The YED's dead!" Dean didn't want to contemplate another nightmare starting. Going to Hell was bad enough but leaving his family would be the worst part. And he couldn't stand the thought of leaving them with some new horror, some new enemy, that would be absolutely unbearable.

"Yeah, but..." Sam shook his head. It was all just getting to be too much. He felt like he was being buried alive. "Whatever is interested in her, isn't."

Little did the brothers know, but there was a stranger kneeling beside their sister watching her sleep. He was of average height with messy black hair and piercing blue eyes. He wore a slightly rumpled suit under a tan trench coat.

Gently, he smoothed back Rose's bangs from her face. She stirred. Not from the touch but from the nightmares. She heard screams. Thousands of screams. Mostly though, she head Dean's. Everything was black, but she could feel flames. Flames licking at her own skin. She could smell sulfur and blood. Everything hurt.

"Shush," the strange man said. "You don't need to see this, not yet." He kissed her forehead lightly, on the mark from the tombstone, watched it heal. "Sleep in peace tonight."

She immediately calmed, dreams and memories of those dreams banished from her mind.

He kept his hand on her cheek. "I know that I cannot save you from this and I am so sorry, Rose."

He left as soon as Sam and Dean opened the door, too quickly for them to see. If they had been listening, however, they would have heard beating of a wings.


	28. DMW prequel: Sophie's Choice

AN: Ok, so, here's the prequel. I'll post a little note on here when I get chapter one of Dead Man Walking up and the third story up and running. :) I introduce another major character in this story...

Disclaimer: I still own nothing you recognize easily.

"Dean, this might work!" Sam pleaded, holding the piece of paper out to his brother. "All the research is sound."

"Sammy, I don't like you messin' with this stuff. This is dark," Dean argued, stepping back.

"Dean, you've only got a week left," Sam reminded him.

Rose had to blink back tears, angry with herself for the weakness. She glanced around the room and wanted to scream. Another cheap, dingy hotel room with paisley wallpaper and bright orange sheets. It wasn't such a stupid place to decide one's future.

"I know that," the eldest Winchester said quietly.

"Then why won't you read the damn spell?" Sam demanded to know. Every time Sam took a step toward Dean, Dean took a step back until eventually he had nowhere else to go. Backed up against a wall, he stared at the piece of paper in Sam's hand.

"It's not going to hurt," Sam insisted. "It's ancient, not dark. It's stupid not to try."

Hands trembling slightly, Dean took the spell. His siblings watched in horror as he viciously ripped the paper into a hundred pieces.

"Dean! What the hell?" Sam stared at the scraps. Rose stared at Dean.

"I didn't tell you earlier because...I thought you needed the hope." Green eyes looked from one sibling to the other. "But if I even try to get out of this deal, the whole thing is undone."

Sam didn't understand but Rose did.

"Sam dies," she whispered. "If you live then Sam dies."

"So what?" Sam exclaimed. "That's what was supposed to happen in the first place!"

"And I couldn't live with that! Sammy." Dean raised his hand to Sam's shoulder but dropped it. "I can't live with either of you dead. I just _can't._ I won't."

"I can't believe how selfish you're being," Sam growled. "What makes you think that I can lose a sibling and just bounce back? I should have stayed dead!"

"Sam, stop it," Rose said evenly, just loud enough to be heard. "It doesn't matter what you say. Dean's not going to let you die."

"Thank you," Dean said with a slightly smug grin. Only Dean could be smug about winning an arguement that cost him his soul.

"I'm not validating you," Rose retorted. "I'm not saying that you aren't being selfish. Sam and I are both going to have to live with you in Hell but, please, can you both..."

"Can we what?" Dean asked quietly.

"Nothing. It's just, I'm gonna lose a brother either way, aren't I?" She shook her head and grabbed her coat from the back of the stupid, orange upholstered chair. "I'm going out."

"Rose." Sam gently grabbed her shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad, Sam. Dean. I just need to clear my head." She gave them both a weak smile. "Give me 30 minutes guys."

"Here," Dean said, pulling his favorite pistol out from under his pillow where he'd stashed it. "Take a gun." He didn't let go of it for a long time, staring at her face as if committing it to memory. Eventually, though, he released his grip on the weapon. Rose tucked it into her waistband and left.

They were in a city for once, Philidelphia, and there was a park within a few blocks of their hotel. It was cold, snow on the edges of the sidewalk, piled up dirty and gray. But there were still kids playing, bundled up in their warm coats. Rose took a seat on a bench. She wasn't so much watching the kids as she was watching the life she had never had. She was remembering how hard a teenaged Dean had always tried to give that life to her and Sam.

"Hey," she prayed quietly. "This isn't exactly a church, and I'm not exactly a saint, but if anyone's listening up there... I need to talk. Give me a sign or something."

She heard a rustling sound and felt a warmth at her side. "What the hell?" She nearly fell off her bench at the sudden appearance of the black haired man sitting next to her. "Who're you?"

"You asked for a sign," the stranger said, looking at her with electric blue eyes.

"And that would be you?" She asked, putting her hand on the grip of her gun.

"My name is Castiel." His voice was like smooth, dark velvet being dragged over gravel. "I am an angel of the Lord."

"No. I've, I've seen an angel." She frowned, suddenly remembering. "In a dream." She paused, confused. "I'm not sure how I forgot that..."

"That was me," Castiel said. "And you forgot because I wanted you to."

"You? You screwed with my head? Buddy, that doesn't make me trust you." She squirmed in her seat under that calm gaze. "Was that really you? You were much more glowy in my dream..."

"My true form is not inconspicuous."

"Good point." Rose wondered if she was in trouble because of her smart mouth but it didn't seem like the angel was angry. She looked down at the ground and wondered if she should wait for him to talk. Or would that be wasting his time? She glanced over at him shyly and saw him looking at her.

"Uhm..." she managed. She was a little proud of herself for that.

"What do you need, Rose?" He put his hand on her shoulder, and she felt something warm and reassuring flood through her. It was somehow familiar.

"Can you save Dean?" she asked hopefully.

Only to have those hopes dashed against the rocks of reality. "No." He actually sounded sad. "We cannot."

"Why not?" she blurted out. "You're an angel. Why can't you save my brother? He's a good man, I swear it. He does his best. He's a hero."

"I know," Castiel said sympathetically. "No one would say that he deserves this fate."

"Then why can't you stop this?"

Castiel sighed. "Your brother made a choice, Rose. He exercised his free will, and we can't interfere."

She felt her eyes fill with tears again. "So, there's nothing we can do."

Castiel paused for a long moment. "There's nothing we can do."

"'We,'" she repeated slowly. "Does, does that mean that I can do something?" Castiel nodded. "What?" she asked desperately. "What can I do?"

Castiel moved his hand from her shoulder to her cheek. "Rose, we can't save your brother. But we can save you."

"Save me?"

"We can open the gates. But you will have to walk through. Alone."

"But...then, wouldn't I be in Dean's shoes? I don't understand."

"You wouldn't be selling your soul, Rose," he explained. "You'd be walking in as a living person." His hand was warm, so warm that she couldn't feel the cold. Even her toes were warm. "I won't lie to you. It will be terrible. You will suffer. Each month will be like a decade. Your body will be ripped to shreds. The power of Heaven will keep you alive, but you will not heal. You will have to fight to the deepest pits of Hell to find Dean."

"And when I do?" she asked quietly, feeling sick to her stomach. "How do we get out?"

"I will pull you out," Castiel said calmly. "And, if you hold tightly to Dean, he will be pulled with you. I know that this is too much to ask..."

Rose nodded. "I'll do it. I'll do anything you want if it'll save my family."

To her surprise, her angel (and when had she started thinking of Castiel as her angel?) looked almost sad. "This is the very last thing I want, Rose." He stroked her cheek softly. "I am sorry that I cannot spare you from this. I would give anything to spare you from this."

"Take it up with Dean," Rose said weakly, her mind reeling slightly at the concern she was getting from an angel of all things. Perfect, pure and worried about her. "He's the one who needs rescuing by his baby sister..."

Castiel didn't laugh. "I promise to save you, Rose." He leaned forward, his breath ghosting warm over her forehead. "I will save you." He pressed his lips to her brow softly.

Rose felt a sense of peace wash over her at the touch, enveloped by warmth and the smell of evergreens.

It seemed like only a moment later that someone was shaking her awake. "Wha...?" She sat up from her prone position on the bench. "Sam?"

"It's been two hours, Rosie," he said softly, sitting next to her on the bench. "We were getting worried."

"Sorry, Sammy."

He slung an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry about it...Midgit." She smiled at the use of the familiar nickname. "You were right."

"Course I was. What about?"

"Dean." Sam sighed. "He's not going to change his mind." Rose just nodded. "I guess we can just, I mean, all we can do is..."

"Make his last week the best week of his life," Rose finished. She looked up, considering telling Sam about her plan but reconsidered. No one was as good at stopping dangerous plans as big brothers. "Glad you finally came around to my way of thinking, Sasquatch."

Sam smiled despite himself. "Yeah, well, we've got work to do."


	29. Author's Note

AN: Hey Y'all... :) Chapter one of Dead Man Walking is up and running if anyone cares to go read. :) I hope you like this new saga in Rose's life.


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